Most of the time, when you find a Land Rover that’s nearly three decades old, it’s either pretty battered from hard work or serious play, or else it’s been restored to appear like new. That’s especially so for one that’s spent its life as a working vehicle.
The Pick of the Day is the rare exception, a 1992 Land Rover Defender 110 station wagon in apparently immaculate original condition after spending its career relaxing in a German firehouse.
There must not have been too many emergency calls in the area because this unique Landie has been driven a scant 8,000 original miles (the odometer shows 13,000 kilometers).
“She spent her life indoors being polished by the rookie at a Deutschland feuerwehrfrau,” says the Aiken, South Carolina, dealer advertising the wagon on ClassicCars.com. “This Defender is in impeccable condition and has the lowest number of miles out of any on the market.”
The Defender is a long-wheelbase 4X4 model with left-hand drive, and equipped with the add ons required by the fire company, which according to the writing on the doors is based in Laurein. Also on the doors are the words Freiwillage Feuerwehr, which translates in English to “volunteer fire brigade.”
“Comes with all the feuerwehr toys still intact including lights, spot light, winch, light tower and storage boxes,” the seller notes.
The truck is powered by a V8 engine and manual transmission, with three stalks sprouting from the floor for shifting gears, engaging 4-wheel drive and switching to low range.
Although the firehouse Land Rover would be a fine conversation piece everywhere it goes, the selling dealer says that it can “custom build” the truck in any way the next owner prefers, presumably back to stock fettle. But that seems like a waste considering that it’s such an interesting truck in time-warp condition.
Actually, those big storage boxes on the roof would come in handy during a backwoods expedition, with a built-in access ladder for getting up there. The seats and dashboard look like new, as they should.
There’s not much information in the ad, such as how the German firefighting Land Rover happened to wind up in South Carolina, but even without such pertinent details, the truck looks to be something quite special.
The asking price seems reasonable at $85,000, compared with price guide values for a Land Rover Defender 110 in excellent condition, as this one seems to be. The feuerwehr gear and regalia either adds or detracts from the value, depending on your point of view, and likely of special interest for collectors of firetrucks.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Hi! Laurein is a small village in Northern Italy and not in Germany. But they speak German there which might have confused the writer. With around 300 people living there it’s no surprise the odometer reads very low milage. Usually, These trucks can be bought in Europe for about 20-30,000 USD. Someone is definitely making some money on this sale 😉 If someone is interested in Defenders from Europe i can support. mario.aigner@hotmail.com
Are parts still available?. Because it’s a Land Rover. So it’s a guarantee that it’s going to break down… Now if we were talking about a Toyota Cruiser from that era, well that would be a hot buy…
Those things are actually very dependable. I’ve had a few and never left stranded. Certainly not a Toyota, but more charm and personality.